Adjustable maternity pant expander

ABSTRACT

An adjustable maternity pant expander is provided for bridging the gap in the waistband of a pair of pants worn by a pregnant woman. The pant expander comprises a strip, with tapered ends in some embodiments. The pant expander uses Velcro and/or buttons to fasten under or over belt loops on pants worn by a user.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

This invention relates to maternity clothing, and more particularly relates to waistband expanders for women's pants.

Description of the Related Art

As a pregnant woman matures, her protruding belly makes it more and more difficult to fit into regular clothing. Although maternity clothing is well-known in the art, this maternity clothing can be expensive and can usually only be worn for a few weeks or months. It is desirable that a pregnant woman's existing clothing be adjustable as her waist and midsection expand, but efficient apparati and methods for adjusting existing clothing are lacking in the art.

Stretchable garments are available to pregnant women, as are sweatpants, lose fitting cotton or polyester materials, and rob-like vestments. These existing clothing options have very little aesthetic appeal for pregnant women who find them largely unsuitable for public appearance.

Stretchable maternity undergarments can be used under pants in place of the waistband, but these maternity garments require the woman to wrap the bottom half of her belly in this stretchable material and then purchase suitable maternity tops that not only cover the top portion of the belly, but also the stretchable material on her pants.

None of these options are entirely desirable or feasible for pregnant women. It is therefore desirable that means be provided for making existing clothing adjustable and usable by a pregnant woman.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

From the foregoing discussion, it should be apparent that a need exists for an adjustable maternity pant expander. Beneficially, such an apparatus would overcome many of the difficulties with prior art by providing a means for expanding the waistband of existing pants.

The present invention has been developed in response to the present state of the art, and in particular, in response to the problems and needs in the art that have not yet been fully solved by currently available information management systems. Accordingly, the present invention has been developed to provide an adjustable maternity pant expander for bridging a gap in a waistband of a pair of pants, the pant expander comprising: a flexible elastomeric strip between two inches and thirty inches long, the strip having an upper side and an underside; two first Velcro pads, each pad affixed to the underside of the strip at one end of the strip; one or more second Velcro pad(s) affixed to the underside of the strip between the two first Velcro pads; wherein each end of the pant expander is folded under a belt loop on a pair of pants worn by a user such the first Velcro pads each engage a second Velcro pad.

The strip may be tapered at both ends. The strip may be formed from one of polymeric materials, leather, and nylon.

An adjustable maternity pant expander for bridging a gap in a waistband of a pair of pants is also provided, the pant expander comprising: a flexible elastomeric strip between two inches and thirty inches long, the strip having an upper side and an underside; two buttons, each button affixed to the underside of the strip at one end of the strip; two or more apertures on the underside of the strip between the two buttons; wherein each end of the pant expander is folded under a belt loop on a pair of pants worn by a user and the buttons buttoned through the apertures.

In some embodiments, the strip may be tapered at both ends. The strip may be formed from one of polymeric materials, leather, and nylon.

These features and advantages of the present invention will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims, or may be learned by the practice of the invention as set forth hereinafter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order that the advantages of the invention will be readily understood, a more particular description of the invention briefly described above will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments that are illustrated in the appended drawings. Understanding that these drawings depict only typical embodiments of the invention and are not therefore to be considered to be limiting of its scope, the invention will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1A is a top perspective view of an adjustable maternity pant expander in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 1B is a bottom perspective view of an adjustable maternity pant expander in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2A is a side elevational perspective view of an adjustable maternity pant expander in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2B is a lower elevational perspective view of an adjustable maternity pant expander in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 3 is an environmental perspective view of pants for use with an adjustable maternity expander in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 4 is an environmental perspective view of an adjustable maternity expander in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 5 is an elevational perspective view of an adjustable maternity pant expander in accordance with the present invention; and

FIG. 6 is a side perspective view of an adjustable maternity pant expander detachably affixed to pants in accordance with the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” or similar language means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment,” “in an embodiment,” and similar language throughout this specification may, but do not necessarily, all refer to the same embodiment.

Furthermore, the described features, structures, or characteristics of the invention may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. In the following description, numerous specific details are provided to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the invention. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize, however, that the invention may be practiced without one or more of the specific details, or with other methods, components, materials, and so forth. In other instances, well-known structures, materials, or operations are not shown or described in detail to avoid obscuring aspects of the invention.

FIG. 1A is a top perspective view of an adjustable maternity pant expander 100 in accordance with the present invention. The pant expander 100 comprises a strip 102, a tapered portion 104 a, and a tapered portion 104 b.

The strip 102 may be fabricated from any flexible materials of any color, including leather, stretchable elastomeric cloth, polymeric materials, cotton, denim, polyester, wool, and the like In some embodiments, the strip 102 comprises rope, cable, chain, or knitted materials.

In the shown embodiment, the strip 102 forms a rectangular strip with two tapered ends 104 a-b. In other embodiments, the ends may be curved, square or rounded. The strips 102 may be untapered, or not have tapered ends.

The upper side of the strip 102 is shown. This is also the top side.

FIG. 1B is a bottom perspective view of an adjustable maternity pant expander 120 in accordance with the present invention. The pant expander 120 comprises a male Velcro pad 122 a, a male Velcro pad 122 b, a female Velcro pad 124, and an underside portion 126.

The underside portion 126 of the strip 102 is shown. This underside portion comprises three Velcro pads, which are affixed to the underside portion 126 of the strip 102. The tapered ends 104 a-b of the strip 102 each are affixed to male Velcro pads 122 a-b on the underside of the strip 102.

The tapered ends 104 are intended to wrap around a belt loop on a user's pair of pants. Once wrapped, the male Velcro pads 122 engage one or more female Velcro pads 124 affixed to the underside portion 126 of the strip 102. The pant expander 120 thus bridged the gap between two belt loops on the pants, and the length of the pant expander between belt loops is adjustable by the position in which the female Velcro pad 124 is engaged.

FIG. 2A is a side elevational perspective view of an adjustable maternity pant expander 200 in accordance with the present invention. The pant expander 200 comprises a strip 104 and a stitching 202.

In various embodiments of the present invention, the strip 102 may comprise layers of flexible materials stitched together with stitching 202. The stitching 202 may follow the outside edge of the strip 102, or intersect or weave in and out of, its mid portion. The strip may comprise a portion of belt.

FIG. 2B is a lower elevational perspective view of an adjustable maternity pant expander 220 in accordance with the present invention. The pant expander 220 comprises a strip 102, a female Velcro pad 124, and a male Velcro pad 122.

As shown.

FIG. 3 is an environmental perspective view of pants 300 for use with an adjustable maternity expander in accordance with the present invention. The pants 300 comprises a pair of jeans 302.

The jeans 302 are worn by a pregnant woman who needs the present invention to bridge the gap in her jeans.

FIG. 4 is an environmental perspective view of an adjustable maternity expander 400 in accordance with the present invention.

The pant expander 100 is shown affixed to the jeans 302. The ends 104 of the pant expander 100 are wrapped around belt loops of the jeans 302.

FIG. 5 is an elevational perspective view of an adjustable maternity pant expander 500 in accordance with the present invention. The pant expander 500 comprises a strip 102, stitching 202, an aperture 502 a, an aperture 502 b, a button 504 a, and a button 504 b.

Various embodiments of the present invention include buttons 504 a-b in place of Velcro pads. These buttons, like the Velcro pads, wrap around a belt loop and through an aperture 502 in the strip 102. Various embodiments of the strip 102 include, or define, more than two apertures 502 such that a user may select which aperture 502 through which to button the button 504.

FIG. 6 is a side perspective view of an adjustable maternity pant expander 600 detachably affixed to pants in accordance with the present invention.

The pant expander 100 is shown affixed to a pair of pants 300 in the shown embodiment. This perspective view provides a closer, more detailed view, than that of FIG. 4 above.

The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from its spirit or essential characteristics. The described embodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is, therefore, indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description. All changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope. 

What is claimed is: 1-6. (canceled)
 7. A method for expanding a waistband of a pair of pants, said method comprising: providing an open gap in a waistband of a pair of pants, said open gap comprising a fly portion of the pair of pants, said waistband further comprising a first belt loop positioned proximal to a first side of the open gap, and a second belt loop positioned proximal to a second side of the open gap; providing a pant expander device comprising: a flexible strip having an upper side, an underside, a first end, a second end, and a mid-portion extending therebetween, said flexible strip further having a first loop portion interposed between the mid portion and the first end, and a second loop portion interposed between the mid portion and the second end, the first and second loop portions each having an adjustable length; a first hook fastener affixed to the first end on the underside; a second hook fastener affixed to the second end on the underside; a loop fastener affixed to the mid portion on the underside, said loop fastener having a first half and a second half configured to selectively engage the first and second hook fasteners; and bridging the open gap by securing the first hook fastener to the first half of the loop fastener, and securing the second hook fastener to the second half of the loop fastener, such that the first loop portion contains the first belt loop, and the second loop portion contains the second belt loop.
 8. The method of claim 7, further comprising tapering the first and second ends.
 9. The method of claim 7, wherein the flexible strip comprises nylon.
 10. The method of claim 7, wherein the loop fastener comprises a length from approximately 0.8 inches to approximately 12.3 inches.
 11. The method of claim 7, wherein the first and second loop portions are each adjustable from a length of approximately 0.5 inches to approximately 7.2 inches.
 12. A cover configured to bridge an open fly of a pair of pants, comprising: a flexible elastomeric strip having a length between two inches and thirty inches, the strip having an upper side, an underside, a first end, a second end, and a mid portion extending therebetween, said flexible elastomeric strip further having a first loop portion interposed between the mid portion and the first end, and a second loop portion interposed between the mind portion and the second end, the first loop and the second loop portions each having an adjustable length; a first hook fastener affixed to the first end on the underside; a second hook fastener affixed to the second end on the underside; and a loop fastener affixed to the mid portion on the underside and having a length equal to an entire length of the mid portion, said loop fastener having a first half and a second half configured to selectively engage the first and second hook fasteners, respectively, and further having a contact surface interposed between the first and second halves of the loop fastener, said contact surface configured to contact a skin surface exposed through the open fly of a pair of pants during use, the loop fastener further imparting a rigidity to the mid portion of the flexible elastomeric strip.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the first and second ends are tapered.
 14. The method of claim 12, wherein the flexible strip comprises nylon.
 15. The method of claim 12, wherein the loop fastener comprises a length from approximately 0.8 inches to approximately 12.3 inches.
 16. The method of claim 12, wherein the first and second loop portions are each adjustable from a length of approximately 0.5 inches to approximately 7.2 inches. 